GERM1010—TnTech—Fall2019—Dr.Sheehan

GERM1010IntroductoryGermanI

Course Information GERM1010-001Classtime:MWF10:10—11:05

GERM1010-002Classtime:MWF11:15—12:10

Fall2019

TennesseeTechUniversity

DeptofForeignLanguages

Dr.MartinP.Sheehan

Course Description

Thiscourse,thefirstinthethreesemesterGermansequenceatTennesseeTechnologicalUniversity,isdesignedtodevelopyour

abilitytocommunicateinGermanwhileincreasingyourgeneralvocabularyandcomprehensionskills.Amixtureofmonitored,in-

classinteractionsandonline,at-homeexerciseswillhelpyouimproveyourabilitytointerpretthelanguage,interactinthelanguage,andpresentyourideastoothers.Allclassactivitieswillalsoincreaseyourculturalawareness.Attheendofthecourse,successfullearnersshouldbeabletohandlenoviceleveltasks,suchascommunicatingandexchanginginformationaboutfamiliar

topicsaswellasengaginginshortsocialinteractionsineverydaysituations.TheclasswillbeconductedinGerman.(3Credits)Prerequisites:StudentsatthislevelareNOTexpectedtobefamiliarwithbasicGermanvocabularyorgrammarstructures.

Professor Contact Details

Office:OakleyHall227Phone:931-372-6535

OfficeHours:MW1:30–2:50pmandbyappointmentEmail:msheehan@tntech.edu

Icheckmyemailregularlyonweekdaysat9:30am&4pm.

Pleaseexpectaresponsewithin24hours,orwithin48hoursonweekendsandholidays.

Required Materials

Coursebook(UsedforGERM1010,1020,and2010):Tracksdorf,Coleman,Rarick,Weidauer(2019).ImpulsDeutsch1:Intercultural,Interdisciplinary,Interactive("MACHEN"Coursebook).Stuttgart,Germany:ErnstKlettSprachen.

Onlineworkbook:

Rarick,Tracksdorf,Geithner,Weidauer(2019).ImpulsDeutsch1:Intercultural,Interdisciplinary,Interactive("LERNEN"+„ZEIGEN“Workbook).Stuttgart,Germany:ErnstKlettSprachen.

CLASSCODE:CL41796782

Major Teaching Methods Amixtureoftextbookandon-lineexercises,in-classactivities

(individual,pair,andgroupwork),homeworkassignments,

andworksheets.

Course Topics Producingandcomprehendingsimplesentencesand

frequentlyusedexpressionsrelatedtoareasofmost

immediaterelevance(e.g.basicpersonalandfamily

information,hobbies,abilities,localgeography,shopping,

travel,employment,etc.).Respondingappropriatelytobasic

questionsandconstructingknowledgefromavarietyofbasic

Germanlanguagetexts.

Attendance Policy Attendanceatallclasssessionsisintegraltothecourseandthereforemandatory.Themaximumnumberofabsencesallowedin

thiscourseisthree(3).Ifyouareabsent,youearnazerofortheday.Anyabsencesbeyondthreewillloweryourfinalgradeby10points.Youmustarrivepunctually.IfyouarriveafterDr.Sheehanclosestheclassroomdoorwhenclassbegins,youwillbemarked

late.Beinglatethreetimeswillequaloneabsence.

GERM1010—TnTech—Fall2019—Dr.Sheehan

ADA Statement StudentsrequiringaccommodationsshouldcontacttheOfficeof

DisabilityServices(ODS).AnAccommodationRequest(AR)should

becompletedassoonaspossible,preferablybytheendofthefirst

weekofthecourse.TheODSislocatedintheRoadenUniversity

Center,Room112;phone372-6119.Fordetails,viewtheTennessee

Tech’sPolicy340–ServicesforStudentswithDisabilitiesatPolicy

Central.

University Plagiarism Policy Maintaininghighstandardsofacademicintegrityineveryclassat

TennesseeTechiscriticaltothereputationofTennesseeTech,its

students,alumni,andtheemployersofTennesseeTechgraduates.

TheStudentAcademicMisconductPolicydescribesthedefinitionsof

academicmisconductandpoliciesandproceduresforaddressing

AcademicMisconductatTennesseeTech.Fordetails,viewthe

TennesseeTech’sPolicy217–StudentAcademicMisconductat

PolicyCentral.Plagiarism,inanyform,willnotbetolerated,norwill

anyotherbehaviorthatunderminesacademicintegrity.

Student Learning Outcomes Uponcompletionofthiscourse,successfulstudentsshouldbeabletoaskandanswerpersonalquestionsinthepresent,andcommunicate

effectivelyinthefollowingcontexts:theuniversity,thefamily,andinatravelenvironment.Furthermore,studentswilllearnanappreciationfor

German-speakingcultures.

Uponcompletionofthiscourse,studentsshouldbeableto

• Understandmostwrittenand

spokenGermanselectedfor

beginninglearners;Interpretive(Listen,Read/View)

• Speakandwriteinsimple

sentenceswithminor

grammaticalerrorsthatdonot

impedecommunication;

Interpersonal(Speak,Write,Listen);Presentational(Speak)

• Speakwithpronunciation

sufficientlyaccuratesoasnotto

impedecommunication;

Presentational(Speak)

• Askandansweroralandwritten

questionsrelatedtofamiliar

topics,suchaspersonal

information,school,careers,

family,actions,anddaily

activities;

Interpersonal(Speak,Write,Listen,Read/View)

• Describepeople,places,and

things;

Presentational(Speak,Write)

• Converseonanovicelevel,

observingbasiccourtesy

requirementsandsocial

demandsoftheculture;

Interpersonal(Speak,Listen,Read/View)

• Demonstrateanunderstanding

ofthediversecultureofthe

German-speakingworldand

describesomeofitsbasic

geographicalfacts.

Cultures(RelatingCulturalProductstoPerspectives)

Grading Policy

30% AttendanceandParticipation

MACHENassignments

15%10%

Blinkassignments(OnlineHomework)

LERNENassignments

ZEIGENassignments

20% Chaptertests

10% Project

15% FinalExam

100% Total

GradingScale:100-90=A;89-80=B;79-70=C;69-60=D;59-0=F

Explanations and ExpectationsParticipation

Learninganewlanguageisoneoflife’smostrewardingexperiences.Overtime,yournewskillswillbecomelikeasetoftoolsthat

willsetyouapartinyourdailylife,inyourfuturecareer,andwhenyoutravel.Butbeyondthesesuperficialandimmediatebenefits,

increasingyourcompetenceinaforeignlanguagewillchangeyou.Youwilllearntoconnectwithnewpeopleandplaces—fromthe

pastandpresent—indeeper,moremeaningfulways.Youwillbecomenotmerelyapassiverecipientofnewknowledge,butyouwill

alsobecomeabletoactivelyengagewithworldsthatwerepreviouslyclosedtoyou.

Ourtextbook,ImpulsDeutsch,takesaunique,progressiveapproachtotheteachingandlearningofGerman.Itiswrittenfromthe

stancethatthebestwaytolearnalanguageistouseitactively.Tosupportyouractivelearning,thiscourseusesa“flippedclassroom”instructionalmodel.

Our Flipped Classroom

GERM1010—TnTech—Fall2019—Dr.Sheehan

Thiscourse’sflippedclassroomhasthreeparts:

A) LERNEN(studying,learning,preparing)–athomeWHAT:TheLERNENassignmentswillhelpyou

learnandpracticenewstructuresatyourown

pacepriortocomingtoclass.Everythingthat

followsdependsonthisstep,soyoumust

committoindependentstudyandpreparation

beforeeveryclass.

DUE:TheassignmentsintheLERNENworkbook

inBlinkarealwaysdueatthebeginningofthe

classthatyouarepreparingfor.Forexample:If

wearecoveringunit19nexttimeinclass,doall

assignedLERNENactivities(seeiLearnformore

detailedlistofassignedactivities)beforethatclass.YouarenotallowedtohandinanyLERNEN

assignmentslate.

POINTS:Youareonlypracticingatthispoint,sonoteverythinghastobe100%accurate.Youwill

getfullpointsforeachindividualactivityifthe

instructorhastheimpressionthatyoutookthat

assignmentsseriously,practiced,andhavewe

abletodomost(notnecessarilyall)ofit

correctly(=atleast80%).

B) MACHEN(doing,making,performing)–inclassWHAT:Whenwemeetinclass,youwillnow

alreadycomewithanawarenessofthematerial

sothatwecanproceeddirectlytopracticeand

groupwork.Yourinstructorwillgenerallynot

lectureorintroducenewmaterialduringthis

timeperiod.Instead,theinstructorwillcreatesituationsinwhichyoucanactivelyusenewstructuresduringtheclass

period.Remember,youarenotexpectedtohavea‘perfect’performanceinclass—learningalanguagealwaysmeans

acceptinguncertaintyandmakinginformedguesses.Theemphasisisonusingthematerialtoexpressyourselfverballywith

increasingconfidence,variation,andaccuracy.

C) ZEIGEN(showing,demonstrating)–athomeWHAT:Aftereachclass,youwillhavetimetorevisitand/orreflectonthecoveredmaterial.

DUE:TheZEIGENassignmentsinofaparticularchapterareduebeforewemeetforournextclass.Itishighly

recommendedthatyoucompletetheseexercisesonthesamedaythematerialisincorporatedinclass.

POINTS:Nowyouarenotpracticinganymore;youareshowing/demonstratingthatyouunderstandwhatyoulearnedin

LERNENandpracticed/usedinMACHEN.Youwillreceivepointsmatchinghowmuchofeachactivitywasdonecorrectly.

-adaptedfromDr.NikoTracksdorf

Asasummary:Aftereachclass,youareshowinganddemonstratingwhatthatyouunderstandwhatwedidintheclass(ZEIGEN),

andyouarestudying,learningandpreparingforthenextclass(LERNEN).Forexample,afterunit4inclass,youwilldotheZEIGEN

assignmentsforunit4,andtheLERNENassignmentsforunit5athome.Thenyoucomepreparedtodounit5inthethenclass.Then

again:ZEIGENfor5andLERNENfor6,andsoon.

ParticipationwillbeinGermanwhenyouspeakwithotherstudentsandwiththeprofessor.Ifanyoneinclass(includingHerrSheehan)feelscompelledtoaskorsaysomethinginEnglish,thenheorshemustask"DarfichetwasaufEnglischfragen/sagen?"andwaitforpermission.AnydiscussionsinEnglishwillnegativelyimpactyourdailyparticipationgrade.Offenderswillbewarned

indirectlyand/ordirectlyifIhearEnglishinourclassroom.

Youmustcometoclasspreparedtoparticipateinourclassactivitiesandtosupportourclassroom’spositivelearningenvironment.Activeparticipationmeansspeakingandcollaboratinginpairandgroupexercises,volunteeringthoughtfulanswers,andcompletingbothin-classwritingassignmentsandon-linepreparatoryassignments.

GERM1010—TnTech—Fall2019—Dr.Sheehan

Thispositivelearningenvironmentrequiresyoutostayon-task.Ifduringpartnerworkyourgroupfinishesearly,youareexpectedtocompletetheexerciseagain(switchingrolesifpossible)untiltheallottedtimehaselapsed.

Courtesynotificationsaboutyourattendanceshouldalwaysbesentpriortoclasswhenfeasible,andyouareresponsibleforboth

makingupmissedworkandpreparingforthenextsession.Whileattendanceisnotpartofyourgrade,participationcountsas20%

ofyourfinalgrade,andyoucanonlyparticipatewhenyouareinclass!Pleaserememberthatyourclassmatesrelyonyour

contributionsinclasstomaketheirownlearningexperiencesuccessful!

Blink Learning TheseexercisesBlinklearning.comareassignedforeachclassmeetingandwillhaveclearduedates.YouwillalwayshaveBlinkhomework.Dailypreparationandpracticearevitalwhenlearningthelanguage,butmoreimportantly,theseassignmentsformthe

basisforinformedclassparticipationandunderstanding.Allassignmentsaredueby11:15amonthedaytheyaredue.IacceptNOLATEWORK.

Project Inordertodemonstrateyourabilitytogather,analyze,synthesize,andpresentinformation,youwillcomplete1projectassignment

thissemester.Wewilldiscussinclasswhatisexpectedandhowyourabilitytocompletetheproject’staskswillbeassessed.

Chapter Tests Youwillcomplete2chaptertestsinclassthroughoutthesemester.Thesetestswillhelpyouandmeevaluatetheprogressofyour

listening,reading,andwritingskills.Classroomexercisesandouronlineassignmentsshouldadequatelyprepareyou.

Final Exam Thewrittencomponentofthefinalexamwillhaveasimilarformattothechaptertests.WhilemuchofthetestwillfocusonChapter

3’sthemesandmaterials,thisexamwillalsorevisitcommunicationgoalsfromthepreviouschapters.